The National Institute of Statistics in Rwanda (NISR) says the general census slated for August this year will embrace the higher use of technology in all its operations, a development that is expected to save time among other benefits. According to Venant Habarugira, the Director of the Census Department at NISR, paper questionnaires will be replaced by technological devices for data entry. “The new element this year is the use of technology in all census operations in replacement of the use of paper questionnaires,” he said adding, “this has advantages of availing results right after the data enumeration and reduce cost among other advantages,” he added, citing that the online methods were used during the pilot phase. The old method of paper questionnaires usually took up to six months of data collection, but with the use of technological devices, it will take two to three months only. The provisional results will be announced in December 2022 whereas the final results will be out in December 2023, according to the institute. Commenting on other preparations, Habarugira said that they are doing the recruitment of field enumerators. Up to 28,000 primary school teachers will be hired as enumerators of this census. He also revealed that so far NISR has completed the census mapping from 0ctober 2020 to July 2021. In September 2021, NISR conducted the pilot census that took place in 600 villages from each sector. Elaborating on the pilot census results, Habarugira said that it was conducted smoothly. “The pilot phase has shown us that the methodology and materials we have are adequate, but has also spotted some few improvements that we have to work on in the main census,” he observed. However, the census also encountered a few challenges in its pilot phase, and mainly the impacts of Covid-19. According to NISR, a census updates the demographic, social, economic and cultural characteristics of the population of Rwanda; population size and its special distribution up to village level, population structure (age, sex) the level, structure, and trends of fertility, mortality and migration. Population projections, economic activities, housing characteristics, and indicators for particular groups of the population such as females, children, youth, elders, and disabled persons are other aspects tackled during the census. Habarugira urges the public to welcome the enumerators as the data collected is needed for national planning purposes, and updates the current status of where the country stands in all walks of life. The previous national census in 2012 established that the Rwandan population stood at 10.5 million but has now grown to an estimated 13 million.
